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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29249571">in which roule falls off a cliff and meets an old friend</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellmewhatyousee/pseuds/tellmewhatyousee'>tellmewhatyousee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>law and his clumsy little son [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Universe, Gen, Injury, Medical Procedures, Needles, Post-Canon, Rescue, and it certainly won't be my last, basically like 5 years into the future, this isn't the first time i've written a fic that's just law tending to injuries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:26:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29249571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellmewhatyousee/pseuds/tellmewhatyousee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after Law and Roule part ways, they encounter each other in a... familiar way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Roule &amp; Trafalgar D. Water Law</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>law and his clumsy little son [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>tellmewhatyousee's Personal Faves</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>in which roule falls off a cliff and meets an old friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>if you don't know, roule is a character from the game world seeker! i'd definitely recommend watching a playthrough of law's dlc (or playing it yourself, if you don't mind the gameplay), but if you just want a bit of context for the story:</p><p>roule is an adventurer, very skilled in mapmaking. in the game, he's holding on to a map his late father made that the world government is after. he keeps getting into trouble and law keeps having to rescue him. i figured he's like ~10 years old during the events of the game, so he's 15 in this story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A fair amount of Roule’s adventures involved running— running from pirates, evading the World Government’s all-seeing eyes, or fleeing civilian towns when he pissed off the locals. In his opinion, the latter happened far more often than it should.</p><p>He had been shipwrecked because of a particularly violent storm, and had just barely managed to find shelter before the elements got the best of him. A kind soul pointed him towards a clinic, where a doctor helped him warm up and bandaged his wounds.</p><p>Unfortunately, in his daze, Roule left his backpack unattended.</p><p>“Doctor?” called one of the clinic staff, elbow-deep in the bag. Roule tensed at the sight. “I think you should... take a look at this.”</p><p>One glance at the bag’s contents had the doctor cussing him out, ordering him to leave the island unless he wanted to die there. Despite his injuries, Roule didn’t think twice; he yanked his bag from the doctor’s grip and rushed out of the clinic.</p><p>The storm was still raging on outside, so much that he could barely see in front of him. He was freezing cold, everything <em>hurt, </em>and all he could do was run. He had no idea where he was going, but he knew he had to get the hell out of there.</p><p>With one unfortunate misstep, the ground was no longer beneath his feet.</p><p>Despite Roule’s efforts to steady himself, he fell, plummeting towards who knows what. He cursed himself for not noticing the town was at such a high elevation— what sort of navigator was he? He realized he might fall into the ocean and drown, too injured and exhausted to swim towards land. Or maybe he’d just hit the ground and die on impact. Either way, it wasn’t looking good.</p><p>He cried out for help, as if anyone could hear him over the booming thunder, but his voice was too weak to make any actual noise. It all seemed so... hopeless.</p><p>Just as he’d accepted his fate, blue light clouded his vision, and his back hit the dirt. Only... the impact wasn’t nearly as rough as he’d expected. It felt like something had snatched him in mid-air and dropped him from a few inches above the ground.</p><p>Roule took a deep breath. Rain poured down onto him like bullets, and his chest felt like someone had taken a knife to it, but he was <em>alive.</em></p><p>“Looks like a kid,” a muffled voice spoke somewhere above him.</p><p>“What’s he doing out here all alone?” asked someone else. “Should we help him?”</p><p>Roule was quickly slipping away, but he caught a glimpse of white fur before he blacked out.</p>
<hr/><p>He was cold. Not quite as freezing as before, but cold nonetheless. The first thing he noticed was the absence of his hat and coat. The second thing he noticed was something soft draped over his lower half.</p><p>He jumped when he felt something press against his chest.</p><p>“Welcome back,” someone said— presumably the same person with a hand splayed out against his ribs, keeping him pinned to the soft surface below him. “Don’t panic. You’ll only exhaust yourself.”</p><p>Roule made a questioning noise at the blurry figure standing over him. As his vision gradually refocused, he looked around the room. It appeared to be some sort of infirmary, though much nicer than the clinic on the island. He was in a comfortable bed, and everything seemed clean and well-organized; why would he panic?</p><p>The hand moved away from his chest. “My crew and I found you falling off a cliff. You’re on my submarine.”</p><p>Roule tensed up. <em>Submarine? </em>He’d never been on a submarine before. With the bright light in his eyes, it was difficult to get a good look at the person hovering over him. At the very least, they seemed to be taking care of him, so maybe he was safe. Plus, the voice was oddly comforting in a way, almost familiar...</p><p>When the figure turned his back and ducked away from the light, Roule’s eyes widened. He’d know that fluffy white hat anywhere.</p><p>“Law?”</p><p>The figure stopped. “Yes?”</p><p>Roule’s shocked expression turned into a grin. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!” he said, moving to sit up— though Law quickly turned around and pushed him back into a horizontal position. “Did you save me?”</p><p>“Evidently,” Law replied, angling the overhead light away so that Roule could see properly. “It seems not much has changed since we last saw each other.”</p><p>Roule’s smile got wider. “Thank you!” he said. “I… really thought I was a goner!”</p><p>“Well, I’m sure if the fall alone didn’t kill you, the infection would,” Law replied, turning back around to wash his hands in the sink. “Your bandages were covered in mud. Did you treat those injuries yourself?”</p><p>Roule looked down at his chest. Surrounded by the various cuts and bruises scattered across his torso, a long, jagged cut ran through his lower sternum. He’d stopped bleeding, at least, but the sheets below him were stained with red spots. He also noticed he was completely clean, which must have been Law’s doing. “I went to a clinic on that island,” he explained, “One of the doctors bandaged me up, but he… threw me out afterwards. Which is why I was running.”</p><p>“That doctor did a shitty job,” Law remarked as he dried his hands. “Bandages aren’t enough. That cut needs stitches.”</p><p>Roule frowned. That didn’t sound good. “Well... <em>you’re</em> a doctor, aren’t you?” he asked. “Could you take care of it?”</p><p>“That was the plan, yes,” Law replied. He sat down in a rolling chair and moved closer to the bed, pulling a small metal cart along with him. “How did you get cut up like this in the first place?”</p><p>“My ship got caught up in the storm,” Roule explained, “I got thrown around a lot while I was looking for land. And... I think, at some point, when I was running into town, I fell into a thorn bush. The other doctor pulled all the thorns out, though.”</p><p>“At least he did something correctly,” Law muttered as he put on a pair of white gloves. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>Roule took a moment to think about that. In a matter of seconds, the initial excitement of seeing Law had faded back into exhaustion. “Tired,” he answered. “Kinda… dizzy.”</p><p>Law nodded. “It seems you’ve lost quite a bit of blood,” he said as he reached for a gauze pad and dipped it into a small bowl. “I don’t think it’s enough to warrant a transfusion, but I’ll keep an eye on things. Let me know if you start feeling worse.”</p><p>Roule nodded. He watched as Law squeezed the excess liquid out of the gauze pad. “What’s that?” he asked.</p><p>“Disinfectant,” Law replied. “It’s probably going to sting.”</p><p>Roule braced himself for the pain, but when Law started on the smaller cuts across his stomach, it wasn’t as bad as he’d expected. He only squirmed when Law went over the deepest wound on his chest, though he heard Law mutter an apology under his breath.</p><p>Once Roule’s wounds were disinfected, Law got up to discard his gloves and spent a few minutes gathering supplies around the room. Roule just watched quietly— as much as he wanted to chat and catch up, Law was concentrating, and he didn’t want to interrupt.</p><p>After setting a tray of supplies down on the cart and washing his hands <em>again, </em>Law sat back down and adjusted the overhead light to point at Roule’s chest again. “Have you ever had a wound stitched before?” he asked as he put on a fresh pair of gloves.</p><p>Roule shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he replied. “Is it gonna hurt?”</p><p>“I’m going to give you a local anesthetic, so it shouldn’t. How do you feel about needles?”</p><p>Roule blinked. “I mean… I don’t <em>like </em>them.”</p><p>“No one does.” Law reached towards the tray. “Look away.”</p><p>Roule frowned. That wasn’t exactly promising, but… well. He trusted Law. Even if it hurt, Roule knew he was just trying to help. So, as Law filled the syringe in his hand, he looked up at the ceiling and tried not to think about how big the needle might be.</p><p>When he was ready to start, Law rested a hand on Roule’s stomach. “Hold still,” he muttered, just before Roule felt the distinct sensation of a needle piercing his skin. He clenched his fists, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried his best not to move.</p><p>The process seemed to last an eternity, but finally, Law pulled the needle out. “One more,” he mumbled, and while Roule definitely felt a pinch, it didn’t hurt quite as much as the first time.</p><p>“Are you traveling alone?” Law asked, tearing Roule away from his thoughts.</p><p>“Uh... right now, yeah,” Roule said. “Sometimes I make friends or stow away on cargo ships, but I’ve been on my own for a while now.” A weak tug on his skin, and Roule glanced down to see Law setting the syringe back on the tray. “Did you ever get back with your crew?” he asked.</p><p>Law nodded. “We all returned to the ship, safe and sound,” he replied. “My navigator carried you in here.” He glanced back towards the infirmary’s door and sighed. “I should probably let him know you’re awake after we’re done here. He seemed awfully worried.”</p><p>Roule raised his eyebrows. “Did you tell them about me?” he asked.</p><p>“I told them we’ve met before, yes. I don’t usually rescue strangers, and I’m not too keen on having children on my ship, so I figured they deserved an explanation.”</p><p>“Wh… <em>children?”</em> Roule asked, a pout on his face. “I’m not a kid! I’m almost sixteen!”</p><p>“Precisely,” Law replied. He grabbed a pair of forceps from the tray and reached towards Roule’s chest. “Do you feel that?”</p><p>Roule glanced down and grimaced at the sight of the forceps pinching his wound. Still, he didn’t feel a thing. “Nope.”</p><p>“Good.” Law set the forceps down on the tray. “I’m going to stitch you up now. You probably won’t want to watch this, either.”</p><p>Roule huffed, still a little sensitive about the ‘children’ comment, but he listened to Law’s suggestion and stared up at the ceiling. “Oh yeah, where’s my bag?” he asked. Perhaps that should have been his biggest concern, but he was a little out of it— plus, he doubted Law would steal from him.</p><p>“On my desk across the room,” Law said. In Roule’s peripheral vision, he could see Law’s hands moving while he worked. “Do you always carry things on you that will get you killed by the World Government, or are we just meeting at the most inconvenient times?”</p><p>Roule tensed. As if he expected him to make a run for it, Law planted a firm hand on his stomach.</p><p>“It’s fine, you can have it back when we’re done here,” Law said. “Keep still.”</p><p>Roule wanted to sigh in relief, though he had a feeling that wouldn’t qualify as ‘keeping still.’ “I don’t even know where the island is,” he admitted. “I just found it while I was exploring. And it looks like it leads to something cool, so I figured I’d try to find it.”</p><p>Law let out a puff of air that Roule thought might’ve been a laugh. “Something cool, huh?” he asked. “You should definitely speak with my navigator. I’m sure you two will have a lot to discuss.”</p><p>Roule hummed. Maybe this navigator could help him figure out just what he’d stumbled across, and why the doctor on that island had been so quick to throw him out. Perhaps tripping and falling off a cliff wasn’t the <em>worst </em>thing that could have happened to him.</p><p>Curious to see how things were coming along, he risked a glance down at his chest... and his eyes went wide. Law held a pair of metal tools, which he used to tie a knot that pulled the edges of Roule’s wound together before he cut the suture. Roule felt like he should be panicking at such a sight, but he wasn’t. Maybe it was the lack of sensation that caused a disconnect; it didn’t really seem like it was his own body being poked with a needle, prodded at with other sharp tools.</p><p>Law didn’t even seem to notice Roule was watching as he grabbed another piece of suture and stitched up the next section of the cut. He had his brow furrowed in concentration as he worked, his movements quick yet precise. Briefly, Roule wondered how many times he must have done something like this before.</p><p>“Why don’t you use your powers?” Roule asked, breaking the silent spell. “Isn’t that easier?”</p><p>Law shook his head. “The use of my powers requires stamina,” he replied. “I usually save it for emergencies or especially difficult procedures. So unless you start seizing or bleeding out, the sutures will be just fine.”</p><p>“I <em>guess,”</em> Roule said. He was eager to see Law’s powers in action again— though, thinking back to all that time he’d spent watching Law fight marines, maybe it was for the best. Still, at least it would’ve been <em>faster.</em> “Are you almost done?”</p><p>“About halfway,” Law answered as he tied off another stitch. “I’m sure it’ll go by much quicker if I’m able to concentrate.”</p><p>Roule took the hint and shut up after that. He entertained himself by watching Law work, still baffled by the sight of a needle piercing his skin with none of the pain he expected. He couldn’t even feel a tug anymore.</p><p>When Law finished, he inspected his work carefully and stuck a bandage across the length of the scar. “These can be removed in about a week,” he said. “Make sure you see a competent doctor this time.”</p><p>Roule tilted his head to the side. “Why can’t <em>you</em> do it?” he asked.</p><p>“I won’t be around,” Law said as he stood from his chair and pulled his gloves off. “We’re dropping you off at the next populated island.”</p><p>“What?” Roule sat up, though a wave of nausea sent him back down. Whether it was the blood loss or the anesthetic, he wasn’t sure. “I… I thought your navigator was gonna help me!”</p><p>“Yes, he can help you,” Law replied, turning his back to wash his hands once again. “But we’re not a taxi service. We have other things to do. Once you have an idea of where you’re going, you’re on your own.” When he turned back to face Roule and saw the boy pouting at him, he rolled his eyes. “Weren’t you <em>just </em>talking about how you’re not a kid? I’m not going to babysit you.”</p><p>Roule huffed. “I <em>know, </em>but...” He looked off to the side. Maybe it was a little embarrassing to admit, but he might as well be honest. “I was… really excited to see you again. And to meet your crew. And... I dunno if we’ll ever cross paths again after this.”</p><p>Law didn’t answer at first— Roule only heard the sounds of metal on metal while the doctor tidied up his workspace. Then, finally, he got the response he’d been waiting for: “Fine,” Law said. “You can stay here while you recover. I’ll cut your stitches at the end of the week. But we’re dropping you off after that.”</p><p>Roule almost jumped for joy, though a hand on his chest kept him pinned down. When had Law gotten so close again?</p><p>“If you want to recover at <em>all, </em>you have to be careful,” Law said, his voice stern. It wasn’t a suggestion. “No jumping around or tripping all over the place. Got that?”</p><p>Despite the scolding, Roule grinned. “Got it!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i definitely want to expand on this series, write more of roule &amp; the heart pirates, so keep an eye out for that 👀</p><p>let me know what you think!</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://tellmewhatyouc.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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